Swedish Meatballs

Swedish Meatballs

Homemade Swedish Meatballs with Cream Sauce and Parsley

This is probably one of the best Swedish Meatball recipes that I have ever tasted.. mainly because it comes from an authentic Swede… My mom! Who was born and raised in Gothenburg, Sweden! I sometimes make this recipe in large batches and store the mixture (prior to cooking) in the freezer. It’s a little time consuming but well worth it. The meatballs can be eaten with ketchup or you can go for gold… and make the cream sauce to go with it.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. ground beef (I prefer the 90% grass-fed)
  • ½ lb. ground pork
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • ⅓ cup plain bread crumbs (unflavored)
  • ½ cup pureed onion
  • ⅓ cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley (leafs only)
  • 1 tsp salt to taste + 1 tsp for flour
  • ½ cup flour
  • butter (1 tbsp per batch of 20 meatballs)

Materials:

  • Food processor with S-blade
  • large plastic bag
  • measuring cups
  • Tsp and Tbsp
  • 12″ Iron Skillet
  • Small Sauce pan

Directions:

  • Preheat the oven to 200 degrees
  • Mix the egg together with the milk, stir in breadcrumbs and let sit for 5 min.
  • Place onion in food processor till pureed
  • Stir the onions into the milk and breadcrumb mixture
  • In a separate bowl, blend the two meats using hands or fork to mix
  • Add the chopped parsley to the meats – mix well
  • sprinkle in salt and mix well
  • Add meats and onion/breadcrumb mixture together
  • In a plastic bag, add ½ cup flour and 1 tsp of salt – shake well
  • Make round balls of the meat mixture no bigger than 1 inch for each ball
  • Place 10-14 meatballs in the bag with flour and gently turn bag to coat meatballs
  • Remove each meatball by rolling in hand to remove any excess flour
  • Place the coated meatballs a large platter
  • Repeat above steps to complete entire batch of meat
  • Heat 1 tbsp of butter in a 12″ iron skillet at medium high heat
  • Add 14-16 meatballs at a time, making sure not to crowd the pan
  • Roll the meatballs in the pan every minute so that they keep their round shape and don’t get burnt on one side
  • Fry until cooked through and evenly browned
  • Remove meatballs to a oven proof platter and scrape the drippings into a separate sauce pot
  • Repeat about directions to cook each of the 14-16 meatballs
  • with the last batch of meatballs – remove the meatballs and add in the reserved scrapings from saucepan
  • Place meatballs into the oven while you make the sauce

Now for the Swedish Cream sauce!

Ingredients:

  • ⅓ cup Crème Fraîche
  • 16 oz beef stock
  • 1 tbsp “Better than Beef Boullion” paste
  • 1 tbsp flour
  • ¼ cup beef stock
  • drippings from saucepan

Combine the drippings from sauce pan back into the iron skillet and add the beef stock, and bouillon paste. Cook down for 5 mins stirring occasionally. Add in the Crème Fraîche stir until well incorporated. In a cup, add the flour and slowly stir in the ¼ cup beef stock to form a paste. Add the flour paste to the iron skillet and whisk constantly to make sure there are no clumps of flour. This will thicken the sauce. Cook for 3 more minutes. Remove the meatballs from the oven and pour the sauce over them. You can sprinkle with a little chopped parsley for decoration. You are now done and ready to enjoy my mom’s traditional Swedish Meatballs. (Goes well with traditional mashed potatoes).

Large Batch Homemade Pesto

Large Batch Homemade Pesto

fresh pesto sauce

Our family LOVES pesto! I have tried different kinds of store bought pesto and really never discovered one I love, so I decided to make my own. We are fortunate enough to have access to large 1 lb. bags of basil, which I usually buy in 5 lb. increments. We also purchase the bulk pine nuts and Parmegiano Reggiano  from Costco, which is so much more affordable than Whole Foods. When I make pesto, I like to make it in large batches then freeze in 2 portion Tupperware containers (see photo). It is key to have a great food processor. I have a new “Breville Sous Chef Food Processor” that I received from my mother-in-law, that I absolutely love! Anyway, so here are the ingredients and the instructions.

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound basil (9 oz leaves after removing stems)
  • ⅓ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 ½ cup fresh Parmesan Cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano)
  • 1 large clove of garlic
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 ½ cup pine nuts

Place the washed basil leaves, and oil in the food processor (using “S-Blade”), till minced, pausing occasionally to scrape in the basil on the sides. Add in the cheese, garlic and salt and process until smooth. Add in the pine nuts at the end, you can make it as crunchy or smooth as you like. My son loves it chunky but my daughter likes it super smooth. You are now ready to place the pesto into ½ cup storage containers. Now you can freeze your batches. Thaw as needed, but please do not microwave. When you add to your pasta, please save some of the salted pasta water to thin out the pesto a little so it has a smooth and slightly liquid consistency.

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